#China #Beijing #Huawei #Intellectual Property #Innovation Forum

Huawei's Commitment to Open Innovation

On November 11, 2025, Huawei held its sixth Innovation and Intellectual Property (IP) Forum in Beijing, gathering experts from around the world to discuss vital themes surrounding open innovation and the significance of IP protection in fostering societal progress. During the event, Huawei also recognized the winners of its semi-annual Top Ten Inventions awards, celebrating groundbreaking innovations across diverse fields.

The event was highlighted by a statement from Liuping Song, Huawei's legal department director, who emphasized the company’s dedication to an accessible approach to innovation. "Open innovation drives societal advancement and technology; it is ingrained in our DNA," he stated. He further assured the audience that Huawei respects and protects the intellectual property of others while safeguarding its own through patents, trademarks, copyrights, and trade secrets.

In the fiscal year 2024, Huawei garnered approximately $630 million from patent licensing. Interestingly, the company has reported licensing fees paid in recent years that are nearly three times higher than the licensing fees it has received. This significant investment in protecting and leveraging its IP portfolio underscores Huawei's commitment to innovation on a global scale.

Marco Alemán, the Deputy Director General of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), noted Huawei's position as a leading global user of WIPO’s services, commending the company as a strong supporter of innovation. In 2024, Huawei published 6,600 applications under the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT), earning it recognition as the largest user of the PCT system since 2014.

The significance of intellectual property, viewed as an essential intangible asset, was highlighted by Etienne Sanz de Acedo, the Chief Executive Officer of the International Trademark Association. He stated that intellectual property acts as a universal language converting innovation and creativity into measurable value. Ningling Wang, the newly elected President of the International Licensing Society, encouraged industry leaders and policymakers to foster collaboration, share insights, lower barriers, and practice responsible licensing.

Huawei took the spotlight with its Top Ten Inventions, showcasing innovations crucial for future development across various sectors, including computing, the HarmonyOS operating system, and data storage solutions. Alan Fan, Vice President and head of Huawei's IP department, asserted that as a leading contributor in the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) sector, Huawei is committed to sharing its technological advancements through open-source software, open hardware, patent applications, standard contributions, and academic papers.

In 2024, Huawei set a record by publishing 37,000 patents. Additionally, it contributed over 10,000 technical submissions to standardization organizations and published more than 1,000 academic papers. The source code for OpenHarmony surged by an additional 10 million lines, supported by contributions from over 8,100 community contributors. Meanwhile, openEuler surpassed 10 million installations, demonstrating Huawei's commitment to fostering an open-source ecosystem.

By the end of 2024, patents held by Huawei were licensed to over 2.7 billion 5G devices, 1.2 billion consumer electronics based on Wi-Fi standards, and over 3.2 billion multimedia devices reliant on video codec patents. Notably, 48 companies within the Fortune Global 500 hold licenses from Huawei, either directly or indirectly.

Addressing the forum, Heiwai Tang, a Vice President at the Hong Kong University, emphasized that innovation is a fundamental driver of modern economic growth, contingent upon a stable, open, and globally trusted patent system. He expressed pleasure at Huawei adhering to international IP standards, which maximizes IP value while contributing to a healthy business ecosystem.

Moreover, in June 2024, Huawei launched Chaspark, a patent search platform designed for scientists worldwide, which allows users to navigate patent data effortlessly. This service, invaluable for students, independent researchers, and small technology organizations, also underwent significant updates including semantic search capabilities and AI-generated summaries.

Recognized industry leaders present at the forum included Yali Zhu from PatSnap China, Qi Wang from Clarivate, Mattia Fogliacco from Sisvel, and Laurie Fitzgerald from Avanci Vehicle, all of whom shared valuable insights and best practices related to open innovation.

In conclusion, Liuping Song reiterated Huawei's firm commitment to cultivating an environment that safeguards innovation and intellectual property. He expressed that through close collaboration with industry partners, Huawei aims to promote constructive IP protection, enabling the industry to grow collectively and flourish.